Assessment of ecological diversity of rhizobacterial communities in vermicompost and analysis of their potential to improve plant growth

Abstract

Present study was designed to determine the microbial diversity from three distinctive sites (amended with vermicompost) of Gujarat, India. A set of 76 strains were screened from total of 438 strains that exhibit plant growthpromoting (PGP) and antagonistic potential isolated from sites PS1 (Mehsana district), BS2 (Dantiwada district) and VS3 (Gandhinagar district). Their diversity indices were studied for determining the species richness and evenness of screened isolates. Results revealed that site BS2 showed the most significant diversity indices in terms of Shannon (H 1.525) and Simpson (1/D 5.120) than other two samples. Principal component analysis showed that bacterial diversity (H ) was correlated with the soil characteristics. Chickpea and groundnut plants inoculated with MBCU1 and MBCU3 isolates showed an increase in the vegetative growth parameters that evaluate plant growth when compared to uninoculated controls. Strains MBCU1 and MBCU3 were identified as Pseudomonas stutzeri and Pseudomonas mosselii, respectively, according to sequence analysis of the 16S rRNA gene. These both isolates belong to site BS2 and they showed specific PGP traits suggesting that these isolates can promote plant growth by more than one mechanism with respect to their higher diversity index.

Effect of soil type and vermicompost applications on tomato growth

“…Vermicomposts (VC) are finely divided, peat-like materials with high porosity, aeration, drainage, water-holding capacity, and microbial activity (Edwards 2004;Pandya et al 2014). These composts result from a non-thermophilic biodegradation and stabilization of organic materials through interactions of earthworms and microorganisms (Edwards 2004;Arancon et al 2003;Agnieszka et al 2013).…”

Cultivable Microbial Diversity Study from Traditional Formulation and Characterization of Phosphate Solubilizers through their Effect on Vegetative Growth Parameters of Zea mays L.

“…Bacteria was isolated in Petri plate containing nutrient agar medium, fungi in petriplate containing potato dextrose agar medium) and Actinomycetes in Petri plate containing actinomycetes isolation agar medium. Numbers of colonies obtained on all these agar plates were counted and their colony characteristics were recorded (Pandya et al, 2014).…”

Ammonia Volatilization and Greenhouse Gases Emissions during Vermicomposting with Animal Manures and Biochar to Enhance Sustainability

“…It converts organic matter into high-quality compost along with decomposed organic nutrients [ 1 ]. Vermicompost is small, peat-like, finely divided materials with high water-holding capacity, aeration through microbial activities, porosity, and drainage [ 2 ]. These composts are formed through interactions of microorganisms and earthworms, causing non-thermophilic stabilization and the degradation of organic material [ 3 ].…”